Apparatus for treating yarn



Sept. 23, 1952 E. D. BOLINGER ETAL 2,611,172

APPARATIUS FOR TREATING YARN Filed June so, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1INVENTORS EDG/l/i MR5 BOA/N65,? ROBERT e; BERNER AGENT Sept. 23, 1952 E.D. BOLINGER E1 AL 2,611,172

APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN Filed June 30, 1949 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 c 50ol 7 A 56 I f o (52 I 5" 0\ 0 85 v 2'2 O I. 2 5 I5 21' a i W 25 l8 0 251 7 o H 20 o L e 0 l6 7 Q a Y 6 IO 5 a 5 INVENTORS 5064/? MR: .BOLl/VGERROBERT e. EEK/YER Patented Sept. 23, 1952 APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN IEdgar Dare Bolinger and Robert G. Berner, Stamford, Conn., assignors toDeering Milliken Research Trust, Greenwich-Conn a non-profit trust ofMaine Application June 30, 1949, Serial No. 102,364

1 This invention relates to a method and apparatus fortreating yarn and,more particularly, to a method and apparatus for treating tire cord toimprove the adhesive and other physical properties thereof.

In applying a liquid adhesive and other coating and impregnatingcompositions to tire cord, difficulty is experienced in obtaining athin, com.-

plete and uni-form coating. Moreover, the break ing strength of tirecord is-reduced if the cord is stretched while wet with liquid, becausethe filaments are damaged, -yet stretching is very difficult to avoid,because the yarn is easily elongated even under the small stressrequired to draw it through the treating apparatus. At the same time,the wet yarn, if allowed to do so by reducing the tension thereon, willtend to shrink, thus increasing its capacity for elongation andreducin-gits strength somewhat.

A high grade tire cord must have an elongation and a breaking strengthwithin fairly narrow limits. Smooth-surfaced cords are tailored to thoselimits before an adhesive is put on to improve their adhesion to rubber.Therefore the adhesive must be applied without either stretching thecord or allowing it to shrink, so that the cords elongation and breakingstrength remain unchanged.

The present invention provides an improved method and means for applyingfluid material to yarn or cord in the form of a solution, emulsion ordispersion, without either stretching the yarn or allowing-it toshrink... The invention also provides an improved method and means forimparting to the tire cord, during'drying of the fluid material thereon,the tension necessary either to stretch the yarn or to allow ittoshrink, to bring it within the desired limits of elongation and tensilestrength required of high quality tire cord. H

The treating apparatus of the invention comprises means for applyingfiui-d material to the yarn, means for drying said yarn, andcooperating, drive means disposed adjacent the points at which the yarnreaches and leaves the drying means for propelling treated yarn at thedesired uniform speed and tension between those points. A preferredembodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through an apparatus embodyingthe invention, showing the path of travel of the yarn being treatedwhile in the form of 1a warp through the dipping tank,

dryer and delivery rolls; 7 p

v Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, taken along theline 2-2 and partly broken away;

7 Claims. 01. -28-28) and drive mechanism.

2 a Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the grooved guide roll underwhich the yarns pass while immersed in the dipping tank; I Fig. 4 is anenlarged front perspective view 0 the apparatus without the splash pan,showing the guide plate, dipping tank, squeeze rolls and drain pan; andFig. 5 is an enlar-ged perspective view of the rear of the apparatus,showing the delivery rolls The" apparatus shown in the drawingscomprises an elevated framework Lat the left end of which (as viewed inFig. 1) a dipping tank 3 is positioned on crossbars 51and 6. Alsomounted on crossbar- 5 are two upright plates 1 and 8, whichbetween'them support the normally stationary guide rod -9 and the guideplate H. The

guide plate I l is provided with two parallel rows of eyes, indicatedgenerally at l3, each eye being adapted to receive an individual end,indicated at Y, of yarn or cord to be treated. The rod. 9 serves as aguide for assembling the yarn or cord to be treated in the form of warpW. -a'fter passage through the plate II and prior to immersion in thedipping tank 3.-

The dipping tank is provided with a guide in the form of a stationarygrooved roll 14, fixedly mounted in the tank adjacent the bottom thereofon the shaft 15. The ends of the shaft l5 are supported on the parallelarms 16 and I6. These arms are fixedly mounted at their ends upon theguide rod 9 adjacent plates 1 and 8, and are adapted to be rocked withthe rod by operation of the handle ll so that the guide roll I4 may beraised to the dotted-line position shown at A during threading thereof.A pair of l-ockingbars l8 and 18' are provided to hold the roll I4 inthe lowered solid-line position shown in the drawing. These bars arerotatably mounted at their upper ends in the housing 20, and immovablyengage the shaft I5 adjacent the arms 16 and IS.

The dipping tank may be provided with a cover in order to hinder loss ofsolvent from the treating solution, emulsion or dispersion. Also, a hoodmay be provided to carry ofi' solvent vapors. Liquid may be circulatedthrough the tank by means of a propeller, if desired, in order to keepthe solution, emulsion or dispersion uniform. Likewise, "the treatingliquid may be continuously circulated from .a storage reservoir and thusmaintained at constant level.

The housing 20 is positioned on the crossbar B and in it are mounted thebearing blocks 2| and this shaft carries the stainless steel roll 25.Rolls 24 and 25 together constitute .a set of squeeze rolls which areadapted to receive the coated and impregnated warp W from the dippingtank, and remove excess treating solution from opposite surfaces of theyarn. The solution pick-up is regulated by [adjusting the squeezepressure. Excess solution is returned to the tank by the drain pan 26.The splash pan 2'! is supported on and covers the upper front and rearportions of the housing 25,-and prevents splatter of liquid adhesivefrom the squeeze rolls.

Reciprocably positioned within the housing above the bearing blocks 2|and 2 l' are the cross plates 28 and 29. At each end of plate 28 aredependent knife edges and 30', which respectively bear in grooves 3| and3| upon the bearing blocks 21 and 2 l. Upon plate 29 is mounted a lever32 pivoted at 33, to which lever is attached a rod or piston 34 whichpasses through an aperture in the plate 28 and bears upon the plate 28,which in turn acts upon bearing blocks 2| and 2| through the knife edges30 and 30' respectively. When the free end of the lever 32 is moveddownwardly,- the piston 34 is forced downward against plate 28, thereaction of which thrusts the plate 29 upwardly against the inside topof the housing 20, th piston acting as a pivot forthe lever during thismovement. Continued downward movement of the free end of the leverincreases .the pressure upon plate 28 and, therefore, the pressure onthe bearing blocks 2| and 2! Ro1l 24 is thus brought closer to the lowerroll 25 to increase the squeeze pressure at the nip of the rolls.Weights 36 at the free end of the lever thus permit adjustment of thesqueeze pressure between the rolls.

The housing 40 defines the dryer, and is provided with apertures 4| and42 for ingress and egress, respectively, of the warp W being treated.The housing 40 is supported within the framework I upon the basecrossbars 43 and 43. The side walls 44 and 44' of the housing carryinfrared lamps, indicated generally at 4-6, which are closely spacedthroughout the length and width of each side wall. The housing is openat top and bottom for circulation of air therethrough by convection. Ifdesired, fans may be provided for direct circulation of air through thehousing.

A set of fluted rotatable guide rolls 41, 48, 49,

50, 5|, 52 and 53 whose guide ends are journaled in the frame of thedryer housing are adapted to carry the treated warp W in festoonsthrough the dryer so that the yarns are simultaneously subjected uponopposite surfaces thereof to the rays of the lamps. More guide rolls maybe added, if desired, for greater holdup length for operationat higherspeeds.

As the warp of yarn passes through the dryer, a large amount of heat isapplied thereto by means of the infra-red lamps, which heat vaporizesmost of the water or other fluid carriers contained in the emulsion orsolution absorbed by the yarn. By adjusting the number of lamps in thehousing, and the rate of the passage of the warp through the housing(which in turn depend upon the speed at which the yarn is traveled, andthe length of the path of the yarn through the chamber), it is possibleto dry the yarn to any desired moisture content. Ordinarily, the treatedyarn is dried back to the moisture content of the untreated yarn,usually between lOand 13 per cent. The rate of drying the warp may beincreased by providing means for withdrawing moisture-laden air from theratus shown in the drawings, the rolls are journaled in fixed positionin the dryer housing, but some or all of the bearings or axles for theserolls may be resiliently held in place or in adjustable position thereinso that the length of the path of the warp through the dryer may bevaried as desired. The surface of the rolls should be such that neitherthe yarn nor material upon it will adhere thereto. Thus, the rolls shownare fluted. The rolls may also be smooth surfaced, and either solid orhollow and adapted to receive circulating cold water to keep them at alow temperature and thus avoid adhesion. A high vapor content of theatmosphere within the dryer may help to prevent accumulation of adhesivematerial on the guide rollers if the guide rollers are cooled, for inthis event moisture continuously condenses upon the surface of therollers and this moisture continuously softens any adhesive materialtransferred from yarn surfaces to the surface of the guide roll and thuslessens adhesion of such material to the guide roller, so that transferof adhesive mate rial from the yarn to the guide roll is lessened. Alsoin such an atmosphere a mixture of liquid condensate and adhesivematerial on the surface of the guide roll is more easily removed by ascraper which may also be provided, if desired.

At the right end of the platform I, as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, apair of upright plates 55 and 56 are mounted on crossbar I0, and supportthe shafts 51 and 58. The ends of shaft 51 are journalled in plates 55and 53, and at its central portion between the plates shaft 51 carriesthe steel delivery roll 60. Upon the end of shaft 5! adjacent plate 56is positioned a sprocket wheel which is driven by a chain 68. This chaindrive may be operated by an electric motor or other driving means (notshown). Upon the opposite end of the shaft 5'! is mounted gear 70, whichmeshes with and drives a gear H. The gear H is fixedly mounted on abushing 12 which is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 13 which itself isfixedly mounted upon plate 55. The gear H, in turn, meshes with anddrives a gear which is fixedly mounted upon the end of a shaft 58. Theends of shaft 58 are journalled in plates 55 and 56, and at its centralportion between the plates the shaft carries a steel delivery roll 18.This gear arrangement serves to drive delivery rolls 60 and 78 at thesame speed. Resting upon and between rolls B0 and 18, and driven byfrictional contact therewith, is a steel tension roll 19.

Likewise fixedly mounted on bushing 12 is a sprocket wheel 80 whichdrives a chain 82. This chain drives a sprocket wheel on shaft 23, andthereby drives the stainless steel roll 25 of the pair of squeeze rolls.The upper roll 24, in turn. is driven by frictional contact with thelower roll 25. Wheels 80 and 85 are of such relative diameter, that thesqueeze rolls 24 and 25 are driven at the same surface speed as thedriven delivery and tensioning rolls 63, I8 and 79. Also mounted uponthe upright support plates 55 and 56 through the brackets 90 and 90' isa guide plate 9|, which is provided with two parallel rows of eyesindicated generally at 92. Each eye is adapted to receive an individualyarn end. Thus, the

plate 90 separates the warp W of treated yarn? or cord into a shed ofindividual yarn ends, Y, as

it emerges from the nip of the delivery rolls B0, 18 and 19. The yarnends Y are borne from this point to bobbins (not shown) on which theyare 14 and thence upwardly fromthe tank between the pair of squeezerolls 24 and 25, whence it passes through the aperture 4| into theinterior of the dryer housing 40 under the guide rollAI, upwardly to thetop of the dryer chamber, over the guide roll 48 and thence downwardlythrough the dryer chamber to the bottom thereof, under the guide roll 49and thence upwardly to the top of the dryer chamber, over the guide roll50 and downwardly to the bottom of dryer chamber, thence under the guideroll and upwardly to the top of the dryer chamber, over the guide roll52, and finally downwardly to" and under the guide roll 53 and outthrough the aperture 42 to the delivery rolls 60, 18 and 19. The warppasses under the first driven roll 18, and thence between the nip ofrolls 18 and 19, over the roll 19, be tween the nip of the roll 19 andthe second driven roll 60 and finally beneath the second driven roll 60.This set of three delivery rolls together with the squeeze rolls 24 anddraw the yarn through the apparatus, including the dryer chamber anddipping tank. Since both sets of rolls are. driven. at the same surfacespeed, through the common drive chain 82, the yarn is fed into the dryeras fast as it is withdrawn therefrom, and thus is subjected to a uniformtension and is neither stretched nor allowed to shrink duringthe dryingprocess. Finally, the warp of treated yarn is divided into a shed bypassing 'through the two rows of the eyes 92 and then is woundindividually on bobbins (not shown).

The process of the invention hasfbeenjffound I to be applicable to thetreatment of tire cord and yarn formed e f-synthetic resins; cellulosederivatives, or natural fibers-and mixtures thereof, includingviscoseray'on, nylon Orlon' (polyacrylonitrile) Saran (polyvinylidene fchloride) Terylene (condensation products of -te' rephthalic acid a'ndaglycol), and cotton toimprov'e'the adhesion thereof to natural andsynthetic' ru'bh r v I 1 In treating a warp of tire cord'by' themethodof the present invention, a suitable-'adueousor organic solventsolution, emulsion or'dis'persiorris placed in the dipping tank. Thetreating-bomposition may contain a wetting agent t'o increase itswetting of the yarn and/or an anti ream g t a, break the foam in thedipping tan anessa mit high-speed operation of the machine. 3 Solutionsand dispersions which have been found to be satisfactory have a solidscontent between '25 and per cent and a viscosity of 5.and" 400 cps.Those commercially available include:

1. Flintkote Syntex C634:- "-An aqueous alkaline ammonia dispersion ofcasein, reclaim rubber and rubber latex.

apparatus, the indi-- "-Solution of abietic acid neutralized withammonia and dissolved in higher alkylated aromatic solvents.

3. Flintkote 11074 GP-Solution of neoprene in toluene. I I

4. Flintkote 11575 D Perbunan-Acrylonitrile synthetic rubber basedissolved in methylethylketone.

5. Esso Perbunan Durez A 6578-1-S0lut10n containing 100 partsacrylonitrile rubber latex and 100 parts Durez 12687 (phenolformaldehyde resin) dissolved in 300 parts methylisobutyl- 'ketone.

, .6. Naugatuck Dispersite 1740-Same as Syntex C-634.

'7. Union Bay State AD479-3 plus MDI-5o- Solution of neoprene in anorganic aromatlcJs'ol- 'vent plus methylene bis-( l-phenylisocyanate).

- 8. Flintkote Syntex 11110-QW-2-An aqueous alkaline ammonia dispersionof casein and rubber latex.

' 9. Syntex 0-634 plus Syton-An aqueous alkaline ammonia dispersion ofcasein, reclaim rub.- ber, rubber latex and colloidal silica.

10. Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Latex DispersionAn aqueous rubber latexdispersion com pounded with. an alkaline resorcinol-formaldehydesolution.

The yarn, in passing through the dipping tank, may absorb as much asseveral timesits weight of emulsion or solution, and. it'will beapparent that .a very considerable amount of heat is required toevaporate this water or solvent content. A rapid output of heat iseffected through the use of infra-red radiation which serves to rapidlyvaporize the water absorbed by the yarn. The rapid vaporization andwithdrawal-of vaporladen air from the drying chamber serves to keep thetemperature of the yarn within a safe limit. If, after dryinghas beeneffected, the yarnhas not yet left the drying chamber, the adhesivecomposition coated on the yarn is subjected to the action of theinfra-red lamps and is caused 'f to be firmly bonded to the yarn. Whenthe ad- 'hesive coating upon the yarn is of a dark color,

the use of infra-red lamps is doubly advantageous, a larger portion ofthe energy of the infra-red rays being converted intoheat as a result.-The current to' the" lamps mayi-beadjusted,;or'the lamps be 'wired inparalleled as to regulate the number of lamps burning at a given time,and thus' regulate the heat'inputQ In order to obtainf strong adhesion"of the rubber coating tothe yarn, it may be desirable tofsubiect thedry, coated yarn toheat fora period of time'aft'er all of the moisturehas been evaporated. This further heating causes additional drying andeffects a firm bond betweenthe .coating materialand theyarn. Usually,,how,- ever, thefurtherheating undergone by the yarn duringvulcanization. is sufficient for. this. purpose.

-. Table I lists typical data taken: during a number of runs madeusing'solutions of Syntex'C-'-634 having varying viscosities and solidscontent. Each solution was placed in the dipping tank of the apparatusshown in the drawing,fand abatcii of viscose rayon tire-cord treatedtherewith;

Table II lists typical data taken during a'run treating nylon tire'coreusing a 30% solidssolu tion containing 95 parts water, 12.5 parts' resorcinol, 26.4 parts 37% formaldehyde solution, and3L5-partsof 10% sodiumhydroxide solution'." The solution hada viscosityof 2 4 cpsand 2.Hercules Rosin-Amine D in Solvesso ,75 a pH of 11.0. r

-. j. 11'ableI I Av. Percent Elonr 7 Av Tensile Av. Percent Moist gatlonat lbs. R Bath, Viscos- Percent Squeeze Dryer strength I Obs) Tension weRegain 9 C g Percent ity Solids 3: Pressure Temp,

o Solids (cp.) Pickup 1 g (lbs) F. U U

r I1- lltreated, Treated mated Treated treated Treated 2200 Deni-a 31 5610.1 2 15 250 34.1 31.1 1.98 1.8 9.9 11.2 2 ply Twist; (Turns/in 9.8singles I 8.6 ply.. 37 56 8.9 .7 .3 1.98 1.8 9.9 11.4 1100 Denier 33 216.8 120 20 250- 15.65- 14.07 8.15 8.41 11.41 14.33 P Twist: (Turns/in)14.5 singles 11.5 singles... 10 ply 1 Measurements made at 55% R. H. and70 F. Not determined but estimated to be 250 F.

Table II Adhesionlbs.lln.

at isercent queeze 1 01s ure egain Nylon Tire Cord Percent cosit SolidsPressure to Between Plics- Solids (cp.) Pickup minv') (lbs) 7 UntreatedTreated Untreated Treated Untreated Treated 210 Dcnier. 24 8.6 "75 18.52.4 15.3 2.8 19.3 3.66 0.14

The following is claimed:

1. An apparatus for treating yarn comprising, in combination, means forassembling a plurality of ends of yarn in sheet form, means forsupplying liquid treating material to the thus assembled ends ofyarn,.yarn guide means associated with said last mentioned means, ahousing for passage therethrough of the treated yarn ends, locking meansassociated with said housingfor holding said guide means in yarnengaging position, a pair of squeeze rollers disposed in said housingand engageable by the yarn ends for removing excess liquid material fromsaid assembled treated ends,drying means for drying said assembledtreated yarn ends, drawing means for theyarn ends comprising a pair ofspaced rolls and an idler roll supported by, and in frictionalengagement. with both spaced rolls, driving means for'rotating one ofsaid pair of spaced rolls, gear means coupling said pair of spaced rollstogether for driving the other of said pair of spaced rolls, means forseparating said sheet of dried treated yarn ends into individual ends,and means associated with said drawing means for driving the saidsqueeze rollers.

2. Any apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in-which the yarn guidemeans comprises 'a roll provided with grooves, each'of which is adaptedto receive an individual yarn end.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 which-includes a coveringmeans associated with said housing for preventing splatter of liquidtreating material therefrom.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 which includes means forretracting the yarn guide means during threading up.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means forremoving excess liquid material from said treated yarn ends comprises apair of squeeze rolls, one of said rollsbeing formedof stainless steeland the other of said rolls being formed of rubber and including adriving connection between the drawing means and said squeeze rolls forrotating the squeeze rolls-in timed relation with the rotation of saidspaced rolls.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 which includes meansassociated with said housing for regulating the pressure between saidsqueeze rolls.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said driving connection drivessaid squeeze rolls at the same peripheral speed as that of the drivenroll of the drawing means.

EDGAR DARE BOLINGER. ROBERT G. BERNER.

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